Circular knitting machine



June 9,1931.

CIRCULAR KNI 'ITING MACHINE Filed June '7. 1929 SWINGLEHURST 1,809,762

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 T il vHIlII HARRY SWINGLEHURS T {9 722 1:- attorneys Patented June 9, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HABBYSWINGLEHURST, ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOBQTO SCOTT '& WILLIAMS, INQ, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS cnwunaa xmr'rme macnmn Application filed June 7,

This invention relatesto circular knitting machines and more particularly to mechanism-adapted to produce atterns in the fabric by means of reverse p ating. The invention 1s particularly useful in machines where the needles are kept in the tricks of the needle cylinder by means of spring bands. The mechanism is of the type in which push-out jacks located behind each needle, are operated selectively to cause the offsetting of the hooks of the needles necessary for reverse plating. According to the invention the push-out acks bend and deflect the heads of the needles by bending outward the portion s of the needle above the spring band, thus enabling the spring band to maintain its pressure on all the needles at all times.

The invention will be shown and described embodied in the well-known Scott & Wilao liams type of revolving needle cylinder seamless hosiery machine.

In the drawings I Fig. l is a vertlcal section at the knockin over point through one side of the need e cylinder of a Scott & Williams seamless hosiery machine embodying the invention,

the section being taken on the line I I of Fig. 3.

ig. 2 is a similar vertical section at a point on the cylinder just prior to the selection of the jacks, the section being taken on the line 11-11 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a development of the needle jacks, pattern jacks and heads of the needles showing the relative positions of the knitting wave and the cams operating the jacks.

Fig. 4 is a view 0 the needle ack on a large scale.

ig. 5 is a similar view of the pattern jack; while Fig. 6 is an exploded erspectiveof the ertinent portions of the ead of a Scott & Villiams machine embod ing the invention.

As in the case of the or inary Scott & Williams seamless hosiery machine, the machine contains the usual revolving needle cylinder -260,carryingthe needles N in the tricks N;

The usual inside sinker rin 297 and outside sinker ring 295 are mounte on the top of the 5b needle cylinder, the sinkers S being radially one-sixteenth 0 an inch, in order to 1929. Serial No. 869,055.

movable therein as'usual by means of the sinker cam cap or ring 300. The needlecylinder is centered on and revolves with a sleeve 251 which is an integral part of the horizontal bevel gear 30, the. latter meshing with the usual vertical. bevel gear on the main drive shaft of the machine. The needle cylinder is movable vertically with relation to the sleeve-251 by means of cylinder raising pins 256 passing through the bevel gear 30 and resting on a non-revoluble thrust roller bearing 250, sometimes termed the main head gear ring. This main head gear ring rests in turn on the cylinder raising tube 280 from which the vertical movements of the needle cylinder are obtained. Supported on the frame of the machine and carrying the bevel All the parts so far described have een known heretofore.

As shown and described in the atent to Albert E. Page, 1,680,063, dated ugust 7, 1928, it ispossible when knitting with two yarns in plating relation to reverse the relative position of the yarns in the knitted fabric by having the hooks of selected needles ofiset relatively to the adjacent needles, and according to the present invention this ofi 'setting is obtained in a peculiarly effective manner. According to the invention the tricks N are made sli htly deeper than usual,sa

ermit the introduction behind the needleso novel needle push-outjacks J, such for instance as shownin' Fig. 4. These needle jacks comprise a shank ortion 10, and 0 rating butt 11 and a head 12, the oint o juncture 13 between the shank and t e head being weakened and thereby causin the head to flex forward i. e. in a-radial irection in the machine. As shown in'the drawin this weak- -ening i :complished by narrowing the point of juncture 13 until it forms a throat or notch. Preferably the end of the head 12 is kept at the normal width of the shank 10. When the jack is placed in the trick behind the needle, it will be noted that the jack is long enou h to keep its operating butt 11 at all times elow the butt of the needle, the knitting cams which act upon that needle butt and the upper bedplate B. The back edge of the needle and the forward edge of the jack are both strai ht, and it will be noted that the needle jac is in contact with the needle throughout practically the entire juxtaposed portions of the two, the head of the jack also contacting with the needle and afl'ordin support for the latter. The upper end of t e jack is rounded slightly in order that when the jack is raised its head may be properly cammed or bent outward by a deflecting cam ring 14 mounted on the upper end of the needle cylinder and overhanging the bottoms of the tricks. The depth of the tricks, the width of the jacks and the degree of overhang of the deflecting cam ring 14 can be correlated to cause any degree of flexure of the needle which may be desired, such for instance as would give a float stitch, but in the drawin s I have shown these parts built to give the degree of offset to the needles which produces reverse plating when the head of-the jack is bent outwardly by contacting with the cam ring.

The present invention is peculiarly useful for machines in which the needles are held in their tricks by means of spring bands. In

the drawings the spring bands 263 are shown holding the needles and needle jacks J in their tricks, the spring bands being located about on a level with the throat or weakened point 13 of the jacks. The shanks of the needles are thinned at the upper end as usual, the thinnin beginning at a point just above the spring ands 263 when the needles are riding at the knocking-over level as shown in Fig. 1. It will therefore be obvious that if the head of a jack is flexed outward by the deflectin cam rin. 14 whilethe needle is at this leve the 'resu ting flexure of the needle will occur just above the spring bands. Since the portions of the selected jack and needle opposite the spring bands are not pushed out the spring bands maintain contact with such needles as are not flexed outwardly. This is a very important feature of the present invention because it insures that the needles which are not flexed outwardly will have their hooks positively kept in the proper radial position thereby insuring an accurate determination of the amount of oflset reuired for the reverse platin This positive control of the positions 0 all the needle hooks is very important for accurate reverse plating.

The selective vertical movement of the push-out needle j aeks J can be obtained from initiated from a series of pattern acks 736 located in the same tricks with the needle jacks and the needles. An upward movement of the pattern jacks causes the raising of the corresponding needle jack, and in the drawings the mechanism is so arrange ern jack is obtained by means of a lowering cam 742 acting on the upper edg: f the operating .butt 11 of the needle jac The pattern jacks 736 each have a series of selecting butts 739 and an operating butt 733 near the bottom of the ack. When this operating butt is moved radially outward it comes in contact with the raising cam 741. In Fig. 3 this cam is shown as consisting of a long surface 0 adapted to raise the pattern and needle jacks most of the required distance, and a short, sharp, higher raising surface I) which is located at the knocking over point. This short surface 6 of the cam 741 may be made circumferentially adjustable to provide any desired timing of the offsetting movement. For this purpose the cam 741 is shown split in two parts and the raising surface 6 is shown on the movable art whose circumferential position is contro led by a thumb screw connectin the two parts. This raising surface I) is a apted to complete the contact of the head of the needle jack with the deflecting cam 14 as shown .in Fig. 1 thus causing deflecting of the jack and the head of the needle just as the top of the hook of the needle passes the ledge of the sinker in its downward movement in the knitting wave. When the pattern j aek is ridin along the surface 0 the head of the needle jack J is just below the deflecting cam ring 14. The lowering cam 742 for the foot of the needle jack is so located as to depress the needle jack and allow the needle to sue back to its normal radial position just as t e needle asses the lowest point of its vertical trave It has been discovered that by timing the reverse plating movement of the needles in this manner the operation is peculiarly effective and that by causing the radial movement outward and back in this manner an accurate manipulation of the arns results. I have discovered that it is esirable to have not more than two needles out of their normal radial position at once and never more than one fully out to reverse plating position at the same time.

I The selection of the pattern jacks is accomplished in the manner similar to that shown and described in the above mentioned Grothey Patent, 1,678,385. Prior to the d that the lowering of the needle jack and the pattime that the jacks reach the raising cam 741 they are acted on by a resett' cam 748 (Fig. 1) which rocks the jacks a out their rockm point and presses the selecting butts 739 ra ially outward to a position to'which the operating butts 733 are in line with the raising cam 741. Immediately thereafter and just before the jacks reach the raising cam 741 the selecting butts of the pattern jacks whose needles are not toreverse the plating are acted on by a movable selecting cam 750 which depresses the operating butt 733 into the trick of the needle cylinder and out of line with the raising cam 741. As a result the only pattern jacks raised are those not acted on by the selecting cam. 750, name- 1y, those whose corresponding needles are to knit reverse plated stitches.

The construction of the mechanism having been described its operation will now be set forth. Assuming that the mechanism is in the position shown in Fig. 2 with theneedles riding at the normal level of the extreme left needle shown in Fig. 3 the resetting cam 748 rocks the pattern jacks 736 by contact with their resetting butts 738 from the position shown in Fig. 2 until the operating butts 733 are in line with the raising cam 741. Such of the pattern jacks as are not depressed by the selecting cam 750 shortly thereafter ride up the cam 741 to the level a (Fig. 3) and travel at this level with the 7 heads of the needle jacks J just below the deflecting cam ring 14. As the needles pass the throat late 559 (Fig. 3) the needles are drawn own by the leading stitch cam 361 (Fig. 1) and just as they pass the knocking over level the pattern jacks ride up onto the high point 6 of the cam 741 thus pushing 4 the needle jacks J to the position shown in Fig. 1. The heads of the jacks thereupon' flex about the weakened juncture 13 causing the needle tobend radially outward just above thespring bands 263. This quick, radial movement combined with the movement of the needle under the leading stitch cam 361 causes the yarns to reverse and the stitch to be knit in that reverse formation. The

lowering or depressing cam 742 acts on the operating butts 11 of the needle jacks almost immediately and by the time the hook of the needle has reached the lowest point of its vertical travel the head of the jack has been withdrawn out of contact with the deflecting cam ring 14 and the needle has snapped back to its normal radial position where it is in contact with the edge of the shank of the jack, the head of the jack, the edge of the deflecting cam ring 14 and the edge of the inner sinker ring 297. The needle then immediately begins to rise in the regular knitting wave while the needle jack and pattern jack continue their downward movement until they are at the levelshown in Fig. 2 of the relatively stationar associated needle radially outward while said.

holding means for the xed needle remains relatively stationary radially.

2. A circular knitting machine having a needle cylinder, and needles in the tricks thereof, in combination with jacks in the tricks behind said needles, said jacks having flexible upper portions adapted to flex the heads of the needles radially outward.

3. A circular knitting machine having a needle cylinder, and needles in the tricks thereof, in combination with jacks in the tricks behind said needles, and a spring band holding'said needles in said cylinder, said jacks having flexible upper portions adapted to flex radially outward the ortions of the needles above the spring ban s.

4. A circular knitting machine having a needle cylinder, jacks independentl slidable in the bottoms of the tricks of said cylinder and having flexible heads thereon, in combination with independent needles in the tricks slidable on said jacks, means adapted to raise said jacks selectively and a cam to bend radially outward the heads of those 'acks which are raised, said heads in turn ending their associated needles radially outward at the hook ends to a position adapted to cause a change of stitch as compared to that formed by the needle not so bent.-

5. A circular knitting machine havin a tricked needle cylinder, jacks and nee les..

independently slidable in said tricks, each jack being behind a needle in the same trick,

means adapted to raise said jacks selectively,

means to hold the needles radially inward and means adapted to feed two or more yarns 1 to said needles in platin relation, in combination with a relative ly stationary cam which, by acting on the heads of the jacks which are raised, is adapted to bend the hooks of the associated needles to an ofl:'set

relation causing reverse plating while said holding means for the bent needles remains radially.

6. A circular knxtting machine having a needle cylinder, jacks and needles-inde endently slidable in the tricks of the cylinder,

each jack being behind its needle, means adapted to feed two or more yarns to said needles in plating relation, and means adapted to raise selected jacks, in combination with a cam adapted to flex radially outward the heads of such jacks as are "thus raised and thereby offset the heads of the needles to a relation adapted to give reverse .7. n e jack for use in-a plating;

'tting mainder, each jack being behind its needle, means chine, com rising a shank, an operating butt and a fiexi le head.

8. A needle jack for use in a circular knitting machine, comprising a shank, an operating butt and head, the point of juncture between the head and the shank being thinned to make the jack flexible at that point.

9. A circular knitting machine having a revolving needle cylinder, jacks and needles independently slidable in the tricks of the cylinder, each jack being behind its needle, means adapted to feed two or more yarns to said needles in plating relation, a cam adaptedto flex radially outward the heads of such jacksas are raised, a raising cam adapted to raise said jacks into contact with said radial flexing cam just as the needles pass the knocking-overlevel, and, a lowering cam for said jacks.

10. A circular knitting machine having a revolving needle cylinder, jacks and needles independently slidable in the tricks of the cylinder, each jack being behind its needle, means adapted to feed two or more yarns to said needles in plating relation, means adapted to flex radially outward the heads of such jacks as are raised, and raising and lowering cams adapted to raise and lower said jacks into contact with said radial flexing cam just as the needles pass the knocking-over level, and to have not more than one needle at a, time flexed radially outward to reverse plating position.

11. A circular knitting machine having a revolvin needle cylinder, jacks and needles independently slidable in the tricks of the cyladapted to feed two or more yarns to said needles in lating relation, a cam ada ted to flex radia y outward the heads of suc jacks as are raised, a raising cam adapted to raise said acks into contact with said radial flexing cam ust as the needles pass the knocking-over level, and a lowering cam for said jacks, not more than three jacks being under the influence of said radial flexing cam at the same moment. a

12. A circular knitting machine havin a revolvin needle 0 linder, jacks and nee es indepen c6111; sli able in the tricks of the cylinder jack being behind its needle, means adapted to feed two or more yarns to said needles in lating relation, a cam adapted to flex radi y outward the heads of such' jacks as are raised, 4: raising cam ada ted to raise said jacks into contact with sai radial flexing cam just as the needles pass the knocking-over level,'and a lowering cam for said jacks, and means adapted to vary the circumferential 'tion of said raising cam.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this ification. 1 H RY SWINGLEHURST.

DISCLAIMER 1,809,762.'-Harry Sufinglhurst, Orange, N. J. CIRCULAR KNITTING Mscnmn.

Patent dated June 9, 1931. Disclaimer filed June 26, 1935, by the assignee,

Scott ch Williams, Incorporated. Hereby enters this disclaimer to claim 7 of the aforesaid Letters Patent, which is in the following words, to wit:

7. A needle jack for use in a knitting machine, eomprising a shank, an operating butt and a flexible Ihead.

[Oflicial Gazette July 23, 1935.] 

